Recorder



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. M. WILLIAMS. RECORDER.

No. 567,017. Patented Sept. 1, 1896.

. WITNESSES THE po'ams PETERS Moro-u (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' H.- M. WILLIAMS.

RECORDER. No. 567,017. Patented Sept. 1,1896.

WITNESSES [yawn 2022 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY M. WILLIAMS, OF BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS.

RECORDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,017, dated September 1, 1896.

Application filed November 26, 1895. Serial No. 570,229. (No model.)

To all whom it mag c an/067 a:

Be it known that I, 'HARRY'hI. WILLIAMS,

a citizen of the United States, residing at.

Bloomington, in the county of McLean and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inR ecorders, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates toimprovements in recorders, the objects in view being to pro duce a simply-constructed recorder, the same being adapted to afford a convenient means for automatically recording and preserving for subsequent inspection and comparison with the cash in the till the record of all cashsales made.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear,-and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section and a partial side elevation of my combined recorder and 'tillalarm, the till beingwithdrawn. Fig. 2 is a plan view, the desk-lid being removed to show the internal mechanism.

Like numerals indicate like parts in both figures of the drawings.

In practicing my invention I employa desk or case 1, the same being subdivided horizontally by a partition 2, thus producing an upper compartment 3 and a lower compartment 4, the whole being covered by a hingedlid 5, having an opening 6 at a suitable point therein. The lid is of course provided With a suitable lock, the key to which is carried by the proprietor or other authorized person.

Rigidly secured upon the partition 2, and therefore within the upper compartment 3, is a pair of vertical standards 7, connected at their upper ends by a horizontal and therefore transverse plate or table 8, that is located directly under the opening 6 in the desk lid and corresponds in proportion thereto. The standards 7 are provided with rearward ex.- tensions or arms 9 at their rear edges and at their front edges with similar extensions or arms 10. The rear arms form bearings fora rotatable shaft 11, designed to serve as a reel, as will hereinafter appear, and this shaft,

which I shall term the reel-shaft, is extended at one end beyond its bearing and is there provided wlth a ratchet-wheel 12. From one of the arms 10 there extends a conical bearing-point 13, and through an opening'in the Pivoted upon a stud 17, extending from that standard 7 at the side of which the ratchet- -Wheel 12 is. located, is a yoke 18, the ends of which are perforated and loosely receive a plunger-rod 19. Arranged around the rod is a coil-spring 20, the tendency of which is to force the rod yieldingly to the front. A greater length of the rod lies in front of the pivot-point of the yoke, and hence said rod is heavier in front and normally falls. The extent of its fall is limited by the rear edge of an opening 21, formed in the partition 2, and through which the lower end of the rod passes into the lower compartment 4 of the desk, where said rod is laterally bent, as indicated at 22, dotted lines, Fig. 2.

Pivoted, as at 23, to the rod at a point in rearof the pivot 17 of the yoke is a rean wardly-disposed bifurcated gravity-pawl 24, the bifurcation of said pawl loosely embracin g the ratchet-wheel 12. In advance of its pivot the pawl is loosely connected to the rear end of the plunger-rod 19 by a keeper 25, so that the pivotal movement of the pawl independent of the rod islimited.

In the lower com partmcnt in suitable'sl ides 27 is arranged the till 28, the same having its interior subdivided in a desired manner for the accommodation of different denominations of money. One side of the till has its side wall extended beyond its rear Wall, and said side wall has its upper edge channeled or cut away, producing a groove 29, which terminates near the front of the drawer or till in an abrupt shoulder 30, in advance of which the bottom of the groove is provided with a slight rise or incline 31. So also at the rear end is said groove 29 inclined at its bottom, as at 32.

Arranged upon a suitable post or bracket 33, secured to the rear wall of the desk and within the compartment 4, is a curved springbuffer 34, against which the rear wall of the .till or drawer abuts when said till or drawer is closed, the spring yielding to compression and serving when the drawer is released to throw the same forward toapartiallyopen position.

This completes my invention, and the operation thereof may be briefly described as follows: A roll of paperbeing arranged between the bearing-points 13 and 14 in the manner heretofore described, the leading end thereof is carried on the plate or table 8 and made fast to the reel-shaft 11. The weighted front end of the plunger-rod being normally depressed, it will be obvious that the rear end carrying the pawl will be normally elevated. XVhen a sale is made, it is recorded by the salesman upon the record -strip, and the money deposited in the till or drawer, after which the drawer is closed and in the act of closing the forward end of the plunger rod 19 rides up the incline 32 of the drawer or till, enters the groove 29, moves up the incline 31, and finally abuts against the shoulder 30 of said groove. The entrance of the front end of the plunger-rod into the groove serves to v raise said front end against its normal tendeney and therefore lower the rear end of 1 said rod, thus by the presence of the keeper 25 causing the pawl 24: to become lowered into contact with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel l2,

manner. contacts with the front end of the plungerrod, which, it will be understood, is subse quent to the lowering of the rear end of the pawl into engagement with the teeth of the 1 ratchet-wheel, the said plunger-rod is by the further inward movement upon the part of the drawer caused to recede against the tendency of its spring'20, and with it is moved the pawl a sufficient distance to cause the ratchet-wheel to rotate the distance of one tooth. This serves to reel up the record of the purchase upon the reel-shaft. At night, at the end of business, the proprietor or other authorized person opens the desk-lid with his key and withdraws that portion of the paper upon which the record is made and computes the amount of cash-sales and compares the same with, the cash contained in the till or drawer. He subsequently readjusts the leading end of the recording-strip and relocks the desk for the next days business, and by such reloeking obviates any danger of the mechanilslm containing the record being tampered wit From the foregoing description, in connec tion with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that I have provided a convenient and simple construction of recorder, whereby an accurate account of cash received may be recorded.

I do not limit my. invention to the precise details of construction herein shown and described, but hold that I may make such changes therein as experience may suggest and mechanical skill dictate without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination with the desk oreasing, the roll-supports, the reel-shaft and the intermediate paper support or table, of the reciprocating and pivotally supported forwardly-spring-pressed rod, a pawl loosely pivoted to said rod in rear of its pivot, a ratchet-wheel arranged on the reel-shaft and adapted to be engaged by the pawl, of a drawer having a shoulder and an inclined surface for raising and reciprocating the rod against the tension of its spring, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the desk or casin g, the roll-supports, the reel-shaft and the intermediate paper support or table, of the reciprocating and pivotally supported forwardly-spring-pressed rod, having a lower weighted bent end, a stop for the same to limit its downward movement, a pawl loosely pivoted to said rod in rear of its pivot, a ratchet-wheel arranged on the reel-shaft and adapted to be engaged by the pawl, of a drawer having a rearwardly-extended side wall 28, in the upper side of which is formed the front and rear inclines 31 and 32, and at the end of which is formed the shoulder 30, said groove and inclines being slightly above the normal position of the lower end of the rod, and the keeper 25 between the rear end of the rod and the pawl, substantially as specified.

The combination with the desk or casing transversely subdivided by a horizontal partition into upper and lower compartments, said partition having near its front an elongated opening, a drawer arranged in the lower compartment and having one of its side walls provided with an inclined surface 31 terminating in a shoulder 30, of the standards 7 arranged on the partition at opposite sides of an opening 6 with which the lid of the case is provided, said standards being connected by the transverse plate 8 and provided at their front and rear sides with the arms 10 and 11 respectively, the roll-holders arranged in the front arms, the reel-shaft journalcd to the rear arms, the ratchet-wheel arranged on said shaft, the yoke 18 pivoted centrally as at 17 to one of the standards 7, the plungerrod arranged for reciprocation in said yoke and having a greater portion in front of the same and extending down through and below the opening in the partition, the edge of In testimony whereof I aflix my signature which limits its downward movement, the in presence of two witnesses. coil-spring arranged upon the rod within the yoke, the bifurcated pawl pivoted on the rod HARRY M. WVILLIAMS. beyond the yoke-and engaging the ratchet- Witnesses:

wheel, and the keeper 25 connecting the pawl GEO. A. STRINGFIELD,

and plunger-rod, substantially as specified. S. O. DOOLEY. 

